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Australian rider Amanda Spratt has raced to a solo victory in the one-day Giro del Trentino Alto Adige – Sudtirol, winning by over 20 seconds, in her first victory this season.

After a great team effort from the five ORICA-AIS riders, including a strong ride from Macey Stewart as she controlled the first 50km at the front in her first race back from injury, it was Spratt who took victory, breaking away from the group in the final descent.

“I am super happy with the win,” said Spratt after the race. “The team did a great job and we seem to be going from strength to strength. Both Kat (Garfoot) and I have been climbing well recently and once I had held the gap and the commissaire car was behind me I was pretty confident I had clinched it.”

“This area is really special to me after I was on the podium at the Junior World Championship time trial here in 2004. The win gives me great confidence going into the next month, which is a big one for me. I feel like the team is stepping up and you can see it in our results. There is a great vibe in the team at the moment and races like today can only build our confidence.”

“It was a great race,” said sport director Gene Bates was delighted by the performance of the team. “It was fantastic to see the team attacking from the front as they did, in what was a small but strong field.”

“Amanda rode a strong race and an outright win is the best way to do it! Macey also had a great race, leading the team out for the first 50km, as did Katrin (Garfoot) who was 2nd over the last climb.”

“This was the last big race before the Giro starts and I am delighted that their hard work paid off and the way they finished off the job.”

The 103km race featured two climbs in the second half, and it was the final climb, just 10km from the finish line, which was the decider. With a group of 10 riders out-front for the final climb, Katrin Garfoot looked strong as the second rider to reach the summit.

It was Spratt, however, who was the strongest, taking the lead on the final descent to open up a 10 second gap, which she then extended to 20 seconds by the time she crossed the finish line as the winner.

This is the second year in the row a ORICA-AIS rider has taken victory at the Giro del Trentino Alto Adige – Sudtirol, after Valentina Scandolara took victory in 2014.